1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high strength cold rolled steel sheet and a high strength zinc-coated steel sheet suitable for use in parts such as automotive panels which require a good external appearance, good workability, and good shape accuracy, i.e., shape retention. The present invention also relates to a steel for preparing such a steel sheet and to a method for manufacturing the steel sheet.
2. Description of the Related Art
Automotive panels and other exterior members of automobiles are required to have an excellent appearance and a good strength exemplified by dent resistance. A primary cause of flaws in the external appearance of such panels is surface strains caused by elastic restoration after press forming. Therefore, a material having a low yield strength is suitable for such panels. However, if the yield strength of a panel after forming is too low, the panel has poor dent resistance, and indentations remain when the panel is pressed with a finger.
Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application Hei 2-111841(1990) discloses a steel sheet which is soft at the time of forming and which has a yield stress which increases at the time of bake finishing after forming. However, due to a deterioration of strain aging properties of the steel sheet, there is a practical limit to the extent to which the yield stress of that steel sheet can be increased.
A multi-phase structure steel sheet is known to have good strain aging properties and a good bake hardenability. Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application Hei 4-173945(1992) describes a method for the manufacture of such a steel sheet. However, in order to manufacture a steel sheet with a multi-phase structure, it is necessary to add large amounts of C or Mn, so the yield strength of the steel sheet becomes too high, and it is difficult to use the steel sheet in automotive panels.
Japanese Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2000-109965 discloses a method of manufacturing a steel sheet having a multi-phase structure and a low yield strength. However, the steel sheet has a low r-value, so it is not completely satisfactory with respect to formability.